anonemouse

When I call the insurance company next week and start "gently harassing them" (the surgery center's advice) to see if I have been approved, who should I talk to?

Um, I'm confused. Your original question said nothing at all about yo-yo dieting. All it asked was whether obese people were unattractive and unpopular, and people answered the question. ETA: Whoops, someone beat me to it.

If you took my statement out of context, then I can see how it would be considered offensive. But in context, we were talking about good and bad Christians. In that context, the statement that not all Christians are bad is not an offensive one. Context is everything. For example: Someone walks up to you and says, "Christians are bad and evil." You say, "Not all Christians are bad and evil. There are some good Christians out there." Your statement is not offensive in that context. You are acknowledging the fact that some Christians are bad and evil, but you are defending the fact that not all are. Does that make sense? My statement was meant to mean that while some Christians are not good people, not all Christians are like them.

What were your favorite or least favorite movies of 2006? My favorites (no particular order): Superman Returns Blood Diamond Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Ice Age: The Meltdown Cars Happy Feet Rocky Balboa Least Favorite: The Departed (good except for crappy ending) Casino Royale (liked Daniel Craig, but not a fan of Bond movies) X-Men: The Last Stand (crappy compared to first 2)

Religious freedom only exists for those in the mainstream. If you have an obscure religion, a religion that is relatively controversial, or no religion, you can forget about it. When business owners can advertise for jobs and say they are a "Christian workplace," you know what they are saying even when they don't come right out and say it. You could be the best qualified person for the job, but you have a snowball's chance in the Sahara of actually getting it if you are obviously not a Christian. They might not come right out and ask if you are a Christian during the interview, but they will find out.

By the way, I only included the statement that all Christians are not bad in my post because I am damned if I do and damned if I don't. By including it, I left myself open to attack for somehow implying (in some people's minds) that being Christian is what made the people bad. If I left the statement out, I would have been attacked for implying that all Christians were bad.

I am going to be blunt and tell you that these statements make absolutely no sense at all to me. I wasn't offended by your statement. That was my point by saying, "Was that supposed to be offensive?" I assumed that you meant it to be, since you seemed offended by my former statements. Right now, I am basically scratching my head and saying, "Huh?" in regards to your statements that I quoted. Can you explain your statements to me? 'Cause right now, I have no idea what you are arguing.

Yep. I am an atheist, and I definitely don't talk about it unless asked. Unless I am online, I generally refuse to get into discussions about religion. I only reveal that I am an atheist when people ask me what my religion is.

From deciding to have surgery to getting approved, I mean, for those of you who had insurance pay for the surgery. I decided to look into surgery in late October, went to a seminar in early November, had my surgeon's consult, nutrition consult, and psych eval in mid-December, and have just now gotten everything sent off to insurance.

Is that supposed to be an offensive statement? I don't see the problem with it. There are bad fat women out there, just like there are bad thin women. That statement isn't prejudging fat women, because it isn't assuming that fat women are bad because of being fat. Just like Christianity isn't necessarily what makes a Christian bad. Therefore, the statement is not incorrect and is not prejudging. Now, if I said that Christianity was what made them bad people, I could understand your anger, but I didn't. Bad people use Christianity to excuse and explain their bad acts (e.g., it says this or that in the Bible). Their Christianity shouldn't excuse them from being held accountable as bad people. So, I stand by my statement. Not all Christians are good, not all are bad. People see the most outspoken Christians. In many cases, these aren't the "good" Christians. They are the bigoted, hateful ones. When other Christians and their organizations stay silent and don't speak up against them, I feel that they are giving tacit agreement and support to them. Saying, "Well, news organizations just don't want to show the good Christians," is bull. Make enough of a scene and speak up loudly, and people will listen.

Phentermine is legal, it's Phen-fen that was banned. Phentermine is the Phen in Phen-fen.

And a lot of us live in small towns in the Bible Belt. I literally knew only one (one!) Jewish family when I was growing up. To my knowledge, I don't believe I have met anyone that is a practicing Jew since that time, or at least, no one that talked about being Jewish. The thing about smaller universities in the south is that the majority of the people they attract are generally Christians, mainly because the majority of the people in the south are Christians. How? I didn't say that all Christians were bigoted. In fact, I specifically said that many are good people. I think anyone who has a brain knows that there are good Christians. But there are also bad ones. How was my statement stereotyping and prejudging? I never said that being a Christian is what made people bad, just that there are bad Christians. I see them everyday. You know, the people that use their religion as an excuse for bigotry and hatred, the ones that call people fags, camel jockeys, and rag-heads. Believing many news reports about Christians isn't stereotyping and prejudging. I know that many Christians aren't horrible human beings. But there are some out there that are. And I have been around a lot of people that use their Christianity as a way to discriminate (advertising their business as a Christian workplace in help wanted ads, etc.), so while I don't think that all Christians are bad people, I also don't doubt the news reports on the ones that are. This statement will probably get me attacked, but I am going to say it anyway. I personally think that a lot of Christians (not talking about anyone on this board) need to stop whining and take their medicine. We never heard a whole lot out of them in general when it was other religions taking the brunt of the criticism, but now that it is Christianity getting the evil eye, being criticized, and having jokes made about it, look out! They wouldn't have said a peep to the news agencies when the stories about the black muslim terrorist group came out (why were they identified as black and muslim instead of just terrorists?), but as soon as someone says something not so wonderful about a group of Christians, they are up in arms.

Missionary work itself is not bad, I guess. Helping people is always great. I guess it is the classical definition of missionary work that I disagree with. You know, helping people but demanding that they convert in order to receive that help. I just really dislike it when people put demands on their help and try to convert the people that they are helping. I feel very strongly that people should not do that. I am extremely anti-evangelism. My example was my aunt and uncle in Nashville that help run a homeless shelter. You shouldn't say, "I'll help you because you are a Christian or because you are willing to sacrifice your own religion for food and a place to sleep. I won't help you because you feel that you would be betraying yourself if you sacrifice your spirituality for a meal." To me, that is everything that a Christian shouldn't be.

about diet drinks. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/13/health/webmd/main701408.shtml Really makes you think about what you put in your body. I personally feel that most people drinking diet drinks and thinking it is making them healthier are fooling themselves. I never drink them just because I can't stand the taste and the aftertaste. One of my aunts always carries around a giant travel mug of diet coke. She has been on Weight Watchers for years, but has never had any lasting success. I keep wanting to tell her that while diet drinks may be better calorie-wise than regular cokes, she would still be better off drinking water.

The only reason I am sort of worried about it is because it apparently runs in my mom's family. Her sister had the same reaction when she had a surgery. I have never been under anesthesia before, so I don't know how I will react.

To be honest, this is what I am worrying about the most, as I get closer to being approved. My mom had both knees replaced a couple of years ago, and the only problem she had was related to the anesthesia and post-surgery pain killers. She said they made her feel so bad that she wasn't sure she would survive being in the hospital, and that it was a few months before she was anywhere close to her former self. A couple of days after the surgery, she had them take her off all pain killers other than an occasional regular Tylenol, which I can't even imagine after having both knee joints replaced. I am really nervous about this, because my (hopefully) last semester in grad school is starting this month, and I will probably be having surgery during the semester if approved.

One of the major parts of success with the band, IMO, is behavior modification. I think that if you do have the band, you will learn very quickly that there are certain things you have to do, like chew very well and eat slowly. It will give you reinforcement in that department. Basically, I wouldn't worry too much about the problems that come from eating too fast and not chewing well. After the first few times you slime or PB, I think you will change your habits. To be honest, that is one of the major reasons that I decided to have the band over RNY. The band forces you to change your behavior, and I think a lot of us need that reinforcement.

This is a big part of what really bothers me about some Christians (including some in my own family): My uncle and aunt help run a homeless shelter in Nashville, TN. They are Southern Baptists (which, I will admit, is a denomination that I have very little respect for). In order for someone to get help at their shelter, they must agree to attend Bible classes and services. I personally think that is disgraceful. Instead of helping someone for the knowledge that you helped another human being, they are putting demands on their help. They are basically saying, "In order to receive our assistance, you must be a Christian or be willing to be converted." A truly Christian person or denomination would help someone. Period. They wouldn't demand something in return. If you are going to feed someone, feed them. If you are going to give someone shelter, give them shelter. Provide services and Bible study that they can go to if they wish it, but don't require someone to potentially give up part of themself just to receive assistance.

Not necessarily. Think of it this way: Most citizens in this country are Christians. That's a fact. Many Americans may not be able to say that they personally know a Muslim or a Jew, but they can say they know a Christian. For me, I believe most of the news' portrayal of Christians because it is what I personally see almost every day. I know many Christians are good people (although, I don't see most "missionary work" as being something to be proud of), but I still see Christians every day that are mean, bigoted, and disgraceful human beings.

My financial counselor at the surgeon's office finally got all my paperwork! She had been waiting on the pulmonologist's report. The only fax number I had with me at the time of the appointment (mid-December) was for the specific surgeon's office, not the financial counselor's office, and apparently they can't transfer documents between offices. I didn't know she didn't get the report until yesterday, so I had to call and give the pulmonologist's office a different fax number. Now, the fax number for the insurance company apparently didn't work this afternoon when she tried to send them everything.:faint: She will try again tomorrow and if it still doesn't work, she will get another fax number from them. She said that I should start calling them and "gently harassing them" next week.

Yep. Carter may not have been the best President in our history, but I think he has become a wonderful human being, especially in comparison to Bush.

I think Carter is definitely the exception to the rule, and everyone should follow his lead.

Yeah, that's what I am talking about. Anyone who is successful in politics has basically bargained their soul away. It is all about getting reelected and raising money. They aren't looking out for us anymore, they are looking out for what's best for them.

I haven't been banded yet, but I was on Phentermine for a year. I liked it, but the problem was that you quickly get used to it and have to raise the dosage.

Sort of like shopping for plus-size petites. Most manufacturers apparently think that you also get taller as you get wider. It is almost impossible to find decent plus-size petite clothing. Even at plus-size stores, most of the petites are too long, and I am only 5'3"!